


Flashes of Fabric

by Clarisse (transnymphtaire)



Series: Advent Calendar 2016 [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blind Harry Potter, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 13:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8754277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transnymphtaire/pseuds/Clarisse
Summary: Sometimes the only thing you see are the flashes you get from your soulmate.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This soulmate AU was suggested by bigjellymonster so thanks <3
> 
> Oh, and this is unbetaed.

A world of black is the only thing young Harry James Potter knows; an unending sea of black broken only by flashes of colour in his sleep. He has no idea what colour it is, what name it goes by, but it’s always the same and it makes him long after sleeping so that he can see it once more.

Then a door opens and his black world gets lighter around the edges. It must be day; the sun and artificial light brightens the permanent black that embraces him. Harsh hands forces him out of his makeshift bed, their bony quality and long nails acting as identifier. His aunt does a poor job of helping him dress, tugging at his clothes and maneuvering his limbs as if he were nothing more but a doll. Harry makes small sounds of protests but they fall upon deaf ears. He has no choice but go along as she drags him out of his room, and towards the kitchen. He has memorised the turns needed, and the smell of breakfast is a telltale sign. Not that he will get anything of the delicious smelling food that his aunt has made; he has to make do with something that he sincerely hope is bread.

“Boy,” the voice of his uncle greets him as Harry chews his food down as quick as he can without risking choking on it. “Guess what day it is?”

He takes a moment to actually consider the question - it’s summer, and as such he has no easy way to keep track of time.

“Friday?” Harry carefully hazards a guess. He could very likely be wrong, his relatives dislike giving him any sorts of helpful information. Usually he has to rely on overhearing the radio or television unless he’s in school, where his teacher tell them the date each morning.

“It’s July 31st.” his uncle answer, as if there’s something special about the date. It takes Harry a while to remember that it’s his birthday, and when he does, he can’t understand why his uncle would care for it. No one said anything when he turned ten, so why would eleven be any different?

“It’s July 31st,” his uncle repeats, and Harry has a comment about the repetition on the tip of his tongue when his uncle chooses to continue. “And the letters has stopped coming.”

“What letters?” Harry asks, confused. He vaguely remember his aunt and uncle mentioning letters in hushed voices, and the sound of paper being ripped, but he has not had enough information to understand the significance of it. He’s not sure if his uncle has deemed him worthy of an answer or not, because a knock on the door interrupt their surprisingly civil conversation. The sound of feet moving to get the door is light enough for him to assume that it’s his aunt.

There’s a shrill scream and the sound of the door slamming before his aunt almost running back into the kitchen with a “Vernon, it’s one of _them!_ ” hurriedly coming from her lips. Harry has no idea who _them_ might be, but it doesn’t sound particularly good the way that she says it. He goes back to chewing on his bread in lack of anything better to do. The world continues on around him as he eats.

* * *

_Them_ turn out to be a loud but kind man that introduces himself as Hagrid, and tells the most peculiar story of Harry’s parents being magical Hogwarts graduates that died in a war by the hand of a Dark Lord. There’s a bit of a confusion at first, when Hagrid starts leaving and Harry doesn’t move from his spot. Harry has to explain that he’s blind, and no, that’s not something than can be fixed because he has been blind for as long as he remember, and it’s not much of a disability to him when he knows nothing else. He can find his way around, he has good hearing, and he can read braille, and write using a braille typewriter. He can’t look in a mirror, and he has a lacking understanding of colours, and visual clues are lost on him, but he makes do.

Hagrid takes one of Harry’s hands in his, and Harry is shocked at the difference in size. He wonders how far up he has to angle his head if he want to face Hagrid properly, and hopes that he will not come off as impolite if he stares at Hagrid’s stomach instead. The direction of a voice only does so much for orientation when trying to figure out where he should be looking.

He does not get much time to think about it before Hagrid tells him that they’ll take the Knight Bus in to Diagon Alley. Harry has never heard of the Knight Bus or Diagon Alley before, but he had never heard that he is a wizard before either, and although he has no proof but his relatives’ horror, he rather trust Hagrid than the people keeping him locked inside a small room under the stairs. Besides, there’s no way he can deny the sound of a vehicle stopping in front of them or the low-pitched voice welcoming them to the Knight Bus.

Harry listens as Hagrid tells him stories about the magical world, trying to paint it in pictures that he can understand but relying too much on colours and shapes and words that Harry is unfamiliar with. A castle in Scotland where children can learn spells is just as abstract as the amusement park that his cousin has been begging to go to the whole summer.

“We’re here.” Hagrid suddenly says, and helps Harry out of the bus. Harry holds onto Hagrid’s hand as they enter a new environment where the lightning source is dimmer than the sun, with lots of different sounds and scents. He can’t help but feel overwhelmed, especially as a stranger suddenly says his name, and then there’s a chorus of strangers greeting and thanking him for something. Amidst the gratitude and handshakes, his black world suddenly blooms in a new colour that looks like how fabric feels. Harry gasps, and Hagrid takes it as a sign to hurry them into the actual alley.

“Professor Quirrell,” Hagrid explains. Harry can only assume that that was the last person that greeted them; he had zoned out. “Brilliant mind, that one. Poor bloke hasn’t been the same since he came back from his travels though. He’s taking up the Defense Against Dark Arts post this year.”

Harry nods, but he’s not quite sure what Hagrid just said. Defense? Against Dark Arts? It sounds important, but what is it really? What’s Dark Arts? What makes something as brilliant as magic Dark; why are there labels at all? He has so many questions, and he wants to ask all of them, but Hagrid leads them towards something called Gringotts and Harry is easily distracted by all the new sensations. He thinks he hears some children talking about broomsticks, but he can’t be sure. What joy can a child find in a broomstick?

He considers to ask, but then Hagrid is talking about goblins, and then they’re on a new vehicle, and Harry wonders if this is what a rollercoaster feels like.

* * *

The day ends with Harry having more questions than answers. All his school books are useless, but Hagrid promised to look up a spell that makes them read themselves for him. He met another student going to Hogwarts when buying his uniform, but he has no idea what they talked about after they asked to be his friend because of his name only. He got a wand that is supposed to be brother to the Dark Lord’s, but Harry still doesn’t know the definition of Dark in the magical world. His world exploded in the new colour once more when he found his wand, but he still has no name or reason for it. The best thing to happen was that Hagrid bought him a pet - an owl. Harry wonder if you can teach an owl to act like a seeing-eye dog, because that would definitely help him when he comes to Hogwarts.

It’s first the next day that Harry realise that Hagrid essentially kidnapped him for a whole month. They’re staying at the Leaky Cauldron, which is the name of the new environment that hides the door to Diagon Alley. Harry spends his time learning to find his way in the inn without help - the inn-keeper Tom is very supportive - and trying to teach his owl to act as a seeing-eye dog. He has yet to name her, because he wants to giver her a name of importance and he can’t read his school books.

A kind customer offer to read him part of A History of Magic during lunch one day, because Hagrid has had no luck with finding a spell. Harry names his owl Hedwig afterwards, and then spends a lot of time trying to get people to read him more. Some indulge him, but there’s the few that doesn’t understand that he’s blind because he has learnt to maneuver between the tables and chairs. The scars over his eyes goes unnoticed in favor of the lightning bolt slashed over his face by the spell responsible for the flash in his dreams. He got Hagrid to tell him some about the Dark Lord and why so many people wanted to greet him, but the information Hagrid could give was still not satisfying. Harry wishes that the subject wasn’t taboo, because he can’t ask anyone and he can’t find more on his own.

* * *

The 1st of September comes, and Harry is armed with a spell that will read his books out loud, a braille typewriter that a witch kindly bought for him, quick-quote quills to take his notes, and a seeing-eye owl. Hagrid takes him all the way onto the train, helps him put away his trunk and find an empty compartment to sit in. Harry hugs him goodbye, before settling in with a story book. He’s very happy that he was able to learn the spell as the only braille books he has ever read were from the library.

Someone opens the door in the middle of a story, and Harry quickly flicks his wand to stop the reading.

“Can I sit here?” the stranger asks. “Everywhere else is full.”

“Yeah, sure. Do you mind if I continue to listen to my book?” Harry asks, too invested in it to stop and be polite.

“Why don’t you just read it?” the stranger asks as they move into the compartment and sits down, if the sounds are anything to go by.

“I’m blind.” Harry answers, the words falling easy from his mouth but tasting sour.

“Oh.” the stranger says, and then don’t say anything more. Harry taps the book and it continues.

* * *

The stranger introduces himself after the book is finished. His name is Ron Weasley and he has five older brothers, and one younger sister, and he wants to get into Gryffindor like the rest of his family. Soon after that a girl comes and introduces herself as Hermione Granger after asking if they’ve seen a toad. Harry casually mentions that he hasn’t seen anything at all, and the sound Ron makes resembles a dying animal. Hermione is not as amused when she learns why, and is about to start in on a lecture when Harry interrupts her. He’s the one that’s blind, and the one that made the joke, and she can’t dictate what does and doesn’t offend him. She seems rather friendly after she has understood that, and Harry wonders if this is what it’s like to have friends.

When the train finally stops, Hermione takes Harry by the hand and describes everything she sees to him. Harry can’t decide if he’s grateful or amused, and cuts her off with hard questions like _but what does water look like_ and _can you describe the colour blue_. It does in no way discourage her, rather she takes to the challenge of describing things in words that he can understand.

They ride boats over a lake to get to the castle, and Harry can hear when the others see it from their excited gasps and whispers. Hermione is quick to give him descriptions, and he tries to paint a picture in his mind but he doesn’t feel that it makes Hogwarts justice. He’s so focused on it that Hermione has to gently tug at his hand to help him out of the boat after they’ve reached land.

Everything seem to happen quickly after that. An older woman lead them into a room to wait, and then they’re lead into another room. Hermione keeps describing everything to him; the four house-tables, the enchanted ceiling, the ghosts, the old hat that is apparently sorting them. Harry dreads the moment that it’ll be his turn and he has to walk an unfamiliar environment on his own. Hedwig left him when they entered the castle, likely so that she could familiarise herself to help him better.

“Potter, Harry!” is called at last, and Harry stumbles a bit as he starts moving. He walks slowly, and he can feel the impatience of the other students, but it’s hard enough to walk in a straight line when the whispers disturbs his sense of direction. Finally his legs meets the stool and he awkwardly sits down. The hat covers his head, and his world loses the light around the edges.

“Gryffindor!” the hat calls after what seems like forever, although Slytherin was very close. Harry didn’t really care, but he’s happy to be with his friends who’ll help him without demanding anything in return.

* * *

He asks his head of house to get pulled out of potions after the first lesson in the subject; he can’t focus on what he’s supposed to be doing and professor Snape does not give him any help. Professor McGonagall, the same old woman from the sorting, is kind and excuses him from the class until they can find a way to teach him that suits his needs. He’s also excused from flying all-together, which might be a blessing as he doesn’t trust broomsticks no matter what Ron has to say about quidditch.

The flashes of the colour that looks like how fabric feels continues during the school year. The first time that he sees books instead, Harry has to take a moment to calm down, because he just _saw_ something, and he recognised it by its shape, and it wasn’t his vision because he was not facing any books at the time. It’s not until he gets a flash of the sun that he breaks down and cries, because he got to _see_ _the sky_ for the first time in his life.

It’s after that that Ron explains about soulmates, and the visions you get of what your soulmate is doing. Harry cries more, because there’s someone out there that can make him see, and because all he can give them in return is black. He hopes that they know that he exists; that they won’t take the black as meaning as they don’t have a soulmate.

* * *

The school year goes by surprisingly well. Harry can find his own way around the castle with the help of Hedwig, who’ll stop him from falling down the moving staircases. His quick-quote quills write down his notes in classes, and Hermione lets him borrow hers when his fail to describe something properly. He charms books to read out loud when the notes aren’t enough, and he can write down his essays using the braille typewriter. Hermione helps proofread his essays for him as well. Ron complains about not getting the same help sometimes, but Harry knows that he’s not actually jealous.

It’s towards the end of the school year that Ron’s two older brothers Fred and George suddenly comes to them with an adventure, involving something hidden in the school and professor Snape. Harry at first just offer them the invisibility cloak that he got at Christmas but hasn’t used, but then Ron and Hermione wants to stop professor Snape as well, and Harry agrees to come. The five of them take the chance one day when professor Dumbledore is gone, because it’s better if they get to whatever it is before professor Snape does.

Harry is not quite sure what they face, because no one remembers to describe it to him in detail. He knows that they get past an animal and a Devil’s Snare, and then there’s something involving flying and keys, and a giant game of chess that he can’t participate him. In the end, it’s only him and Hermione continuing on, because Fred and George has to take Ron to the Hospital Wing. Harry doesn’t know exactly what happened, but he hopes that his friend will be okay.

The room that they find themselves in smells like potions, but that’s all the help that Harry can be. Thankfully Hermione manages to do it on her own. The room has been closed off by fire, she explains, and they need to drink potion to pass through it. Harry gets the potion that will bring him forward.

* * *

It’s the voice of professor Quirrell that greets him when he finds himself in a new room, instead of the voice of professor Snape that he had come to expect. He gets another flash of the sensation of fabric, and he can’t help but feel sad that it’s not books or the sun this time. Harry doesn’t know why his soulmate looks at what must be fabric so often, but he hopes that they’re okay, and he’s glad that they won’t be able to see whatever will happen to him as he faces off his professor.

Suddenly a new voice joins in, asking to be allowed to see him. Harry really hopes that nothing bad will happen; he can’t avoid incoming spells when he can’t see them as anything but changes in light. He has managed to conclude that the new person likely is the Dark Lord Voldemort, as Quirrell calls them master, and instead of being afraid, Harry wonders if he can finally get answers to some of his questions.

Then he gets a new flash, and it’s not the sensation of fabric this time. He sees a round room, and what must be a mirror, and then he sees… himself? He’s seeing _himself._ He’s _seeing_ himself, and Harry’s breathing become quicker because the only reason that he would see himself _now_ is that Voldemort is his soulmate. _Voldemort is his soulmate_.

“See what I have become?” the voice that he has now identified as Voldemort’s begins, and Harry laughs hysterically.

“I’m blind!” he shouts. “Did professor Quirrell fail to mention that?”

“Then you’re useless.” Voldemort deduces, and Harry wishes he knew the context behind this adventure because he really does not appreciate being called useless because of something he can’t help.

“Seize him!” Voldemort demands of professor Quirrell, and Harry suddenly realise that his world is black again.

“But I’m your soulmate!” he calls out in a panic. It does not help, and he suddenly feels professor Quirrell’s hands around his neck. Harry reacts the only way he can and tries to get professor Quirrell to let him go. The next thing he know is professor Quirrell’s scream and the smell of burning skin. It’s not exactly pleasant, and he’s not completely sure why it happened, but Harry decides to act on a guess and reaches out to touch more of professor Quirrell’s skin.

The last flash he gets before he faints his of his own body collapsing.

**Author's Note:**

> This is not what I had planned out, because I switched some things around, haha.
> 
> Anyway, do you guys want more set in canon or do you prefer when it's completely AU? I don't really care, I can adapt most of my plans.


End file.
